Technical FE 390 Wont crank anymore

maybe some debri is blocking the inlet filter screen at the carb, there is enough fuel in there to squirt, as you mentioned, but not enought to flow.

You mentioned earlier the plugs were dry, that shouldn't be the case, they should be wet.

 

You don't seem to want to listen to anyone.
You have spark on not. It really doesn't mean shit how it ran 4 years ago.
Go to speedway and buy a new dist.
Item # 44713371 PerTronix D133701 Flame-Thrower FE Ford
352, 390, 428 Distributor
Or get on ebay and buy a points dist for $35.00 and new points and maybe a coil and resister.

 

Hey George, maybe i dont sit in my garage or computer all damn day and have to work so havent had time. Someone asked if there was a update so i replied. Maybe you dont listen I said i rebuilt the motor 4 years ago and it ran great up till the week i posted this which was 2 weeks ago. Ya dick


A rodder, i checked the filter and fuel pump and all seems good. Ill buy a new filter anyway since its cheap.

F - One, yeah you are correct. I dont have a resistor but if i go to the points ill put one in. The plug and play dizzy says a resistor isnt needed. I need to get a remote start too since my wife freaks out when i have my hands under the hood and Im having her bump/start the motor. Im also going to put new plugs since the plugs were dry and maybe they are out. Been so busy with work Im going to try and get this done friday night.

 

Mine was similar years ago, especially when hot. Upgraded to a heavier battery lead to starter. Problem solved.

 

I had one for a customer 2 weeks ago that the distributor pin sheared, but stuck itself in the wrong spot. Also, the outer ring on the harmonic balancer had slipped, so eyeballing TDC on number 1 was impossible. I suspect his teenaged son had been beating to crap out of it (God bless him!)

The one I worked on had similar symptoms. Ran fine one day. Slowly got harder to start. Then began to backfire. Then wouldn't run at all.

I pulled the distributor after checking all the basics like power/fuel/spark. All seemed fine.

I thought maybe the pickup was bad in the distributor so I decided to swap it to rule that out.

While swapping the distributor I noticed the gear was blued from spinning on the shaft.

Using the old finger in the number one plug hole I found that the outer ring on the balancer had slipped 50-60 degrees so TDC via the timing marks was 50-60 degrees off.

I dropped in a different distributor, got the timing close, and it fired right up.

Good luck!

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thanks man. I think im going to go ahead and get a new distributor from napa and see how that works out. I did check the gears and all which looked good but i know that can be decieving. I did the TDC and everything lined up great. I went with a good damper but i know anything can happen.

 

OK well here is an update. I changed out the ignition switch about 3 days ago and nothing changed.

SO yesterday i checked voltage at the coil with ignition on and im getitng 12 Volts. Couldnt check at cranking cause i didnt have anyone helping. So i figured just messing around i would turn the dirstibutor and try and again. So low and behold it catches a little but only for second when i let go of the key from start to run. SO i turn the dizzy some more and the carb catches fire a bit. I turn it the other way and bam the engine is running BUT Only if i keep my foot on the gas. SO i let it rest try it again and it starts, idles eveytrhing great. No idea. Turned it off and retried and it started right up...idled and eveyrhting.
However, i tried again this morning and nothing. Im now wondering maybe its the fuel pump...

 

OK, be patient with me because I am not trying to be a smart butt.

You say you turn the dizzy. Do you turn the case, or do you grab the shaft and turn the rotor.

The reason I am saying it is backfire and fire is VERY indicative of timing going way out. If your pin is sheared, the gear may be barely holding itself on the shaft and, sometimes, it will slip a little, messing up timing.

So when you say you turn the dizzy, I am thinking you take the cap off and grab the rotor and it turns. It shouldn't do that. If it does, the pin is sheared even if it doesn't look like it. The gear should be pinned to the shaft.

If you are rotating the cap and housing, and it changes how it tries to start, then you have a timing issue. If it was fine and suddenly wasn't, it still points to a sheared pin.

If I were there, I would pull the distributor and throw the gear in a vise (just to hold it, not gorilla grip it). and see if the shaft turns inside the gear. If the shaft and gear don't turn, then try driving the pin out. It should drive out and then you can drive it back in. If it don't drive, it's probably sheared and not lined up anymore. Then check inside and make sure there is nothing loose.

I seriously don't believe you have a fuel issue. To eliminate that, get a motorcycle remote tank or make your own to troubleshoot. Just keep a water hose handy. Gravity feed to the carb will eliminate the pump and prove it's an ignition problem.

Good luck and take it one step at a time but start with the ignition. Everything I have read that you wrote so far still points to a sheared pin.

 

Yeah i turned the whole distributor itself. When i took the distributor o0ut everything seemed fine on the distributor shaft, gears, pin. Maybe it sheared in the middle so i will take it out againa nd drive that pin out. Wish i had another distrubotr to chekc. I was thinking of getting one from napa and just see how it going. I think its timing also cause it use to start with ease eveytime. Also doesnt make sense why i had it on TDC number 1 and no start, tuned the dizzy and it started. Might be sheared. I know when i turned the motor by hand the rotor turned instantly so i dont think the timing chain slipped.

Thanks

 

How'd you end up on this problem?

Should have called - I'd have helped you out!!

 

If it has a ballast resistor - check to see if its open.

Oldmics

 

It's been 3 1/2 months, hopefully he got it figured out and running.

 

What the OP said points to timing chain skipped. A simple compression check would have shown low compression. The other thing that came to my mind is a cracked disty cap.

 

The single spark when he turns the ignition on, and then nothing while cranking indicates a bad ignition module on my 1990 5.0. The first time it happened, I didn't have much in the way of troubleshooting info, and I went through all kinds of hoops trying to figure out what was wrong, compression test, checked timing chain, distributor drive, pretty much everything that has been recommended here. I was pretty happy when I installed a spare distributor, with module, and it fired right up. Confirmed the bad module when I re-installed it and got the single-spark-and-no-more-when-cranking issue again. Since then I have had 2 more go bad, and I am glad to know what I know now concerning them.